Why does Plex behave in a non-repeatable way?

Configuration
1

I have an automation in node red that:

  1. Turns bedroom TV on
  2. Opens Plex app
  3. Plays random episode of Seinfeld once the plex activity sensor changed from unavailable to idle

Node red vs home assistant automation shouldent matter in this case. 1 & 2 always happen. But whats erratic is #3. Sometimes plex will go from unavailable to idle at first power up. Other times, TV has to power down and up 10x before plex reports anything other than unavailable.

2

Plex is really janky in a lot of ways. The apps on PS4, Chromecast, web, and Apple TV are so wildly inconsistent with their state reporting. I’ve honestly just given up on integrating plex into my set up.

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3

This is disappointing. I recently discovered it and really like it other than this issue.

4

If this is about the media_player being unavailable sometimes, please check the note in the docs regarding scanning for clients. There’s not currently a way the Plex clients announce their presence so there’s a button entity or service to check for new ones.

If there are other inconsistencies or bugs, please open an issue on the github repo.

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5

The service call seems to do the trick. Thank you.

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